Mustard Seeds

Yesterday was a big day for me. I got my first gun. While it was very exciting to be part of picking it out, when I went out to shoot it when we got home, I was just a bit terrified. I realized that I have a (healthy) fear and respect of and for guns. They are not the toys that children are allowed to play with. As I was thinking about the fear and respect I have for guns, I started wondering something, Should we have an even greater fear (awe) and respect for Creator God? I know this is something that I could do so much better in, living with a greater awe of God. So I started praying that God would help me to grow my fear (awe) and respect for Him. Because it should be much greater than that of the gun. Just a thought. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." How simple that statement is. Yet, it is still so profound. Just take a minute to take in what this verse means. When I looked up the meaning of "life" in Strong's concordance at www.blueletterbible.org , it said that the word means "the vital spirit". This means that "whoever has the Son has [the vital spirit]; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have [the vital spirit]." The vital spirit. Take that in. Vital means "needed by your body in order to keep living" ( www.merriam-webster.com ). Think about eternal life. Vital spirit. We need life to keep living. We need Jesus to keep living. Just a thought. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

So I know I just started this today. But I gained some other insights throughout the day. So here goes… 3. Rouge means red. So Baton Rouge means red stick. And contrary to what my friend thinks, it is                           perfectly acceptable to ask what rouge means. 4. Apparently you can't order cheese-strawberry slushes at Sonic. But really, we just wanted strawberry-PEACH slushes. So annunciation is key with those tricky, tricky speakers. I may have some more insights tomorrow. We'll see where the day takes me. I was informed by a friend today that I should have started this learning process years ago. You know, when I started college. Oh well… Haha. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

So I had this idea after spending breakfast with three lovely ladies. I want to record the things that I have learned and am learning in college. What better place to do that than here? The things that I might post on here are probably not what you would expect someone to learn in college, but these are things that I want to be able to look back on and remember. Many of these things might be funny or sad or terrifying. But these are things that I want to share. So here goes… 1. Paddles float, shovels do not.            And here's the story there: At breakfast, my friend was telling me about a time when her friends                  took her canoeing. The canoe flipped. The catch is that these friends had lost their paddles. So they were using shovels to paddle the canoe. When the canoe flipped, the shovels sank. So, hence, the   lesson… Shovels sink, paddles float. They had to paddle back across the river with their arms. 2. Procrastination sometimes helps. Sometimes.  

Each moment that we have been given on this earth should be used for our purposes in life, that is, to bring glory to God. The last two nights, I have found myself with enough free time to actually get some projects done. These things have been on my to do list for weeks, but I have yet to make time for them. Instead, I find myself using time fillers. These things include checking social media sites over and over, going back and forth between Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Also, the tv is a huge time filler. All of these things, in conjunction with my mood and lack of motivation have led me to waste the last two nights doing nothing. This is a problem for me. One, because I have many other things that I need to and should be doing. Two, I do not need to waste the time God has blessed me with on this earth. I am not saying that social media is bad. It all has its place.  But I just want to be aware of how I am spending the time that God has given me. I realize there needs

So I know that thanksgiving is the topic of the season. Everyone is writing about it. And I haven't written in a while, but that's just it. Thanksgiving is such a big thing, not only because the world makes a big deal about it, but also because GOD makes a big deal about it. We are to bring thanksgiving always to the feet of God. Over and over in His Word, it shows us that we must bring thanksgiving. Psalm 100 says this: "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations." In all I do, I want to bring praise. I want to bring thanks. "In all that I do

After church tonight, I was following a friend home to share dinner with. As I was driving, I came to the top of a hill. I looked out toward the direction I was driving and saw smoke, fog, whatever surrounding the mountains on either side of the road. How I wish I could have got a picture of the beautiful sight. God spoke to my heart as I looked on His beautiful creation. I'm reading a book right now called Captivating . It is by John and Staci Eldredge, and in it, they talked about how we should see the beauty of God all around us. Well, I did. Through the sight of the low hanging (if that's the correct word) clouds on the mountain, God spoke to me that He is always near, within reach. We just have to reach out, and He's there. Just thought I would share what God spoke to my heart. The beauty of it will have to remain in my mind, but a picture would not have done it justice anyway. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

Today God showed His faithfulness once again. But I would like to start with a little revelation that I had last week. Last weekend, a couple from my church went away for the weekend for their anniversary. I was able to help out by watching two of their children for them while they were gone. I stayed at their house at got a little taste of what it's like to take care of children. As I was getting ready for church, I woke up early to get myself ready before getting the kids up. I was making muffins for breakfast, but it took me a little bit longer than I thought to mix the dough and spoon it into the pans. By the time I was finished and about to put them in the oven, I realized that I did not have enough time for the muffins to cook before they needed to be ready to eat. I started praying that they would cook quickly. As I was praying I went to wake the children up to get ready for church. One of them had already woken up, but the other was still sleeping. I went up to wake her u

As I go through Beth Moore's Daniel bible study, I am learning so much. I am really excited to continue learning.  This comes from the lesson that I did today" "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:1-3) Notice that it says when, not if, you pass through the waters and walk through the fire.  God tells us that we will walk through fire. In other words, we will go through trials.  But He is with you. And me. Turn to Him. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

This is a picture of the rainbow that I saw the other day while I was driving to town. Of course, Mom got mad at me for stopping to take a picture of it (in the middle of the road). But it was the largest, widest rainbow that I had ever seen, and it just reminded me of the promise that God gave His people when He made the first rainbow. God's creation is soo beautiful! Genesis 9 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,  “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.   2  The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.   3  Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And  as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.   4  But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.   5  And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning:  from every beast I will require it an

So I got some ideas from Pinterest and from a good friend's room this past year at college. I want my walls covered next year in encouraging quotes and pictures of my friends and family. While my friend's room was covered in pictures and magazine shots, I want mine to be encouraging and uplifting. So tonight I kind of went crazy with my markers and colored pencils. Here's part of what I have for my walls next year. (I already had some, but they are packed in a box downstairs with my school stuff.)  Like I said, this is only part of the quotes I have for next year. I am planning on putting colored paper behind these to break up the white from the wall. Let me know if you have any quotes, sayings, or bible verses that I should use. Thanks for reading! In God, Emily

Tonight I read a quote on pinterest that said, "You can't live a positive life with a negative mind."  This is also something God has been convicting me of lately.  Instead of instantly thinking a negative thought about something or someone, I have been turning those urges around and praying and thinking positive thoughts.  Even in the past couple of days that I have been trying this, I can feel a more positive spirit take over.  I can't wait to see what the Holy Spirit will do.  I know that God can use me even more when I turn my thoughts over to Him. I pray that I can continue this. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

God has been showing me so much lately.  I can't believe how much He has blessed me.  Tonight, while doing Beth Moore's Daniel bible study, I came across Colossians 4:6, which says, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."  Because God had already been convicting me on my responses to people, this verse spoke mounds of truth in my heart.  I hope it encourages you as it has been encouraging me. I know it has been awhile since I've posted. I can't really blame anything besides a busy life. I hope to post more often, but we will see where life takes me. I hope this can encourage you. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily

So I was at Lifeway with my mom the other day (It was a few weeks ago by now). But I'm just now getting to post about it. So we saw these beautiful head bands. For awhile, I had been seeing necklaces with the above tag on them. I read about this ministry in the book called Kisses from Katie. The point of this ministry is to support women in other countries that are trying to support their families. They make the goods (sometimes head bands, sometimes jewelry, etc.) and then the goods are sold to people in other countries. Upon further research, the ministries has many other parts. Here is a link to their website:  Amazima Here is a link to the author of the book's blog: Kisses From Katie Anyway, I just wanted to share a little about this awesome ministry. The best part is that I was able to help to feed children. Thanks for reading. In God, Emily